Sangamon County appointed seven members to its newly formed Mental Health Board on May 12, tasked with directing spending from a limited 0.5% sales tax levy that takes effect July 1. The county received over 100 applications with a 9% acceptance rate, comparable to admission rates at top universities.
Board members include Jennifer Douglas, a re-entry coordinator for the Illinois Department of Corrections; Janice Gambach, former CEO of Memorial Behavioral Health; William Moredock, president of Sacred Heart-Griffin High School; Steve Nardulli, a retired central Illinois judge; Margaret Seymour, a psychiatric clinician; Leigh Steiner, former CEO of the Andrew McFarland Mental Health Center; and Brian Wojcicki, a lobbyist and lawyer. Once seated, the board will appoint two additional members: Michael Gaines, corrections coordinator for the Illinois Department of Public Health, and David Racine, former executive director of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at University of Illinois Springfield, bringing the total to nine members.
Funding is not expected to be disbursed until October, allowing the board time to establish procedures and review initial program applications. County administrator Brian McFadden said the sales tax levy, which excludes groceries and medication, should bring in around $14.7 million annually. The board’s composition sparked concerns, however. Only two of nine appointees currently work in mental health-focused fields, though several have prior mental health experience or executive-level backgrounds.
Members of the Sangamon County Recovery Oriented Systems of Care Council advocated for people with lived experience of substance use on the board. “If that utopia doesn’t involve the people that it serves being all of Sangamon County, then we are probably going to be doing them a disservice and an injustice,” said Austin Dambacher, a ROSC coordinator. The board is expected to hold its initial meeting within the next 30 days.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.illinoistimes.com/news/sangamon-county-appoints-mental-health-board/